来源：《新科学家》
原文见刊日期：2022年11月5日
本文适合2024考生
There are now two genetically modified versions of the common houseplant known as pothos designed to enhance its ability to reduce indoor air pollution.
现在有两种被称为石柑子的普通室内植物的转基因变种，旨在增强其减少室内空气污染的能力。
In Canada, Origen Air is already selling air purification systems containing a GM pothos. And in the US, Neoplants plans to start selling another GM pothos to consumers towards the end of next year.
在加拿大，Origen-Air已经在销售含有转基因石柑子的空气净化系统。在美国，Neoplants计划在明年年底开始向消费者销售另一种转基因石柑子。
Indoor air pollution from cooking, cleaning and materials is a growing concern. Back in 1989, a NASA study found that plants put in sealed chambers containing very high levels of common indoor air pollutants such as benzene and formaldehyde – which can cause cancer – could reduce the levels of these pollutants.
烹饪、清洁和材料造成的室内空气污染越来越令人担忧。早在1989年，美国国家航空航天局（NASA）的一项研究发现，将植物放在含有非常高水平的常见室内空气污染物（如苯和甲醛）的密封室内，可以降低这些污染物的水平。
That finding led to the widespread notion that adding houseplants to rooms will lower levels of indoor air pollution, but subsequent studies suggest that the effect is too small to make a difference in people’s homes.
这一发现导致人们普遍认为，在房间里种植室内植物会降低室内空气污染水平，但随后的研究表明，这种影响太小，无法对人们的家庭产生影响。
So, Stuart Strand at the University of Washington in Seattle decided to enhance the pollution-reducing power of golden pothos by adding a rabbit gene for a liver enzyme that breaks down a wide range of pollutants. This approach boosted the effect several times. But even so, to make a meaningful difference, Strand concluded that a fan would be needed to move air over the plants.
因此，西雅图华盛顿大学的斯图尔特·斯特兰德决定通过添加一种兔子的肝酶基因来增强金色石柑的减污能力，这种酶可以分解大量污染物。这种方法将效果提高了几倍。但即便如此，斯特兰德总结说，要想产生有意义的影响，还需要一台风扇来让空气在植物上方流通。
This GM pothos is now being sold in Canada as part of air purification systems for office buildings that combine high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters with a glass chamber containing the GM pothos. Origen Air has been selling these systems since the second quarter of 2022, says CEO Susan Blanchet.
这种转基因石柑现在作为办公楼空气净化系统的一部分在加拿大销售，该系统将高效颗粒空气（HEPA）过滤器与含有转基因石柑的玻璃室结合在一起。首席执行官苏珊·布兰切特表示，自2022年第二季度以来，Origen-Air一直在销售这些系统。
Now, a start-up company called Neoplants has created another GM pothos with more extensive modifications. It has two added genes from bacteria as well as extra copies of some of the plant’s own genes. This enables it to break down benzene, formaldehyde, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene, the company says.
现在，一家名为Neoplants的初创公司创造了另一种转基因石柑，进行了更广泛的改造。它有两个来自细菌的额外基因，以及一些植物自身基因的额外副本。该公司表示，这使它能够分解苯、甲醛、甲苯、乙苯和二甲苯。
Tests done in collaboration with the University of Lille in France suggest that the plants are 30 times better at removing these air pollutants than the best plants tested by NASA, says Patrick Torbey of Neoplants. The firm released a paper last week describing its work, but hasn’t submitted it to a scientific journal.
Neoplants的托贝说，他们与法国里尔大学合作进行的测试表明，这些植物在去除空气污染物方面比美国宇航局测试的最好的植物好30倍。该公司上周发表了一篇描述其工作的论文，但尚未将其提交给科学期刊。
“This new paper looks pretty good,” says Strand. It isn’t possible to directly compare the effectiveness of his GM pothos with the Neoplants one as different tests were done, he says.
“这篇新论文看起来相当不错，”斯特兰德说。他说，由于进行了不同的测试，所以不可能直接比较他的转基因石柑与Neoplants产品的有效性。
It remains unclear whether Neoplants’s pothos will make any difference in an actual home. But Torbey says the company is setting up a research facility near Paris that will include two “bedrooms” to test this.
目前尚不清楚Neoplants的石柑是否会在实际住宅中产生任何影响。但托贝表示，该公司正在巴黎附近建立一个研究设施，将包括两间“卧室”来测试这一技术。